Sensory marketing is everywhere

Sensory marketing leverages a consumer’s five senses (smell, taste, touch, sight, sound) to influence a person’s behaviors and emotions. This type of marketing has always been around, but it’s being revitalized in this era of consumerism.

Brands are utilizing multisensory marketing by placing products in food or settings when it may or may not make sense to. Brands are tapping into what we see, hear, touch, smell and even taste with this tactic. This expansion of marketing affects how we perceive the product and adds a hedonic effect. Instead of purchasing a lip gloss for its functional glossy or moisturizing effect, we may also consider the taste/flavor when purchasing. 

Beauty You Can Bite Into

Flavored lipglosses are a product as old as time, but let’s check out some unexpected and fun collaborations that have taken campaigns to new levels. 

Beauty, fashion, and food brands are teaming up to create campaigns that people can actually feel: 

• Dove x Crumbl
• Native x Girl Scout Cookies
• Rhode x Krispy Kreme
• Dunkin x Tarte 
• Marc Jacobs x Nara Smith
• Skims x Mel’s Diner

These examples have shaken up the internet due to their boldness and creativity. 

Some campaigns go even further, like McDonald’s in the Netherlands. The company installed bright yellow billboards that emitted the scent of their iconic french fries throughout the streets. 

Personal care brand, Billie, introduced an interactive campaign in New York City that featured large posters depicting armpits that passersby could scratch to release the scent of their new deodorant. This quite literally made people stop in their tracks and had them talking immediately. 

Can You Taste This Photo? Good.

Another form of sensory marketing is the unusual placement of products in settings that may not seem to relate at first glance. We’ve seen this from time to time with rhode by Hailey Bieber. They are known for positioning their lipglosses in ice cream cones with syrup drizzling down both the lipgloss and cone (which happens to be the same shade as the gloss). They’ve also had their lipglosses leaning up against buttery croissants. They even implemented this same idea with rhode’s skincare campaign that placed Hailey Bieber’s moisturized face next to a glazed donut.  

Suddenly, a product isn’t just something you use. It becomes an experience that you see, smell, taste, and touch. It makes us pause, smile, and remember. By engaging multiple senses, brands create a stronger desire that connects the product to pleasure, curiosity, and fun. The product goes from functional to a small moment of joy or surprise that invites people to talk about it.

Turning Sensation Into Strategy 

Okay, so why does this matter to us as an agency, and even as a consumer? For agencies, it’s a reminder that creativity and boldness can cut through the noise. Sensory marketing shows us that thinking beyond the screen or the shelf can generate real engagement and conversation. 

As consumers it matters because these experiences influence how we perceive value, how we remember brands, and even what drives us to make a purchase. A product that delights multiple senses sticks in our mind much longer than a standard ad ever could.

This trend is reshaping how brands approach partnerships, art direction, and campaign design. It encourages unusual collaborations, playful product placements, and immersive experiences that make marketing feel less like persuasion and more like participation. In a world crowded with content, brands that make us feel, smell, and see something unexpected are creating experiences we won’t forget.